Rhetorical Outbursts

The story is reported here as well as on Mike Cope’s blog:

I would like to thank all of you who took time to respectfully express your opinions to Harding board members and/or to the Harding administration. Most of you who did so had the same reason I did: not because Ann Coulter is conservative but because her words are divisive and damaging to public discourse in this country.

He posted back on August 23rd and August 20th criticizing Harding, not so much for inviting Coulter, but for not inviting Jeff Walling. Cope’s August 23rd posting was more concerned with some criticism he had received from someone at Harding over his teaching on baptism.

It looks like Ann Coulter may be the casualty of an insular religious dispute.

She has responded with her usual biting wit. Her website announces, “I’m afraid they leave me no choice . . . - I’m going to have to invade Harding University, kill its leaders, and then convert them to Christianity. “

That, of course, recalls what she wrote in the days after 9/11 about certain Muslim countries and was one of the reasons critics cited in calling for her dis invitation:

In inviting Coulter to the campus, wrote [Greg] Kendall-Ball whose father and sisters are also Harding alums, the university had “failed to uphold the Christ-like spirit that Harding seeks to embody.” It troubled him, he said, that “someone advocating violence, forced conversions, physical intimidation and who has routinely expressed anti- or non-Christian views is welcomed and given one of the more prestigious speaking engagements on the school’s calendar.”

On his blog, Kendall-Ball greeted the news that Coulter was dis-invited with this unassuming, Christ-like proclamation, “In a tremendously earth-shaking turn of events, Harding University has gone and done something to piss off some of its alumni. Shock! Surprise!”

Now some responses. First, it should be noted, that Coulter wasn’t invited to teach students about Christianity. She was invited to speak about politics. Mikhail Gorbachev has also spoken at Harding in the same lectureship series. As a committed atheist, I’m quite certain he has expressed some anti-Christian views. I don’t recall Cope or Kendall-Ball complaining then. Apparently being an anti-Christian Communist is okay, but less-than-Christ-like conservatives should be silenced.

Second, note the irony. Cope and his allies are constantly lecturing their conservative brethren about being open, inclusive, and accepting of others who call themselves Christians, even if they don’t teach the exact same doctrines about salvation and baptism. Well, apparently that doesn’t apply to politically conservative Christians, especially if they have sense of humor and enjoy tweaking liberals by phrasing their arguments for maximum controversy.

That is what Ann Coulter does. She is a controversialist. She says seemingly outrageous and shocking things in order to provoke the political orthodoxy. On further examination, what she says is often not as outrageous as it seems, and her books are filled with citations to examples that support her generalizations. But taken in shorthand, she is vulnerable to caricature. I wonder if Cope has even read an entire column of hers, let alone one of her books. For some, if you get basic doctrine wrong, that’s fine. But, if you are cheeky, then you ought to be banned.

As for Kendall-Ball, he indicts her as being anti-Christian or non-Christian. Count one: she advocated violence. Really? Well, in the days after 9/11 so did I. Millions and millions of God-fearing Americans advocated violence — specifically the invasion of Afghanistan. Are we all outside Mike Cope’s and Gregg Kendall-Ball’s big tent of Christianity? Ann Coulter’s crime is that she advocated invading other countries and killing their leaders in the days after 9/11. Well, not long after she wrote that, it became American policy.

Count two: she advocated “forced conversions.” This one is just a lie. She did no such thing. She said “we” should “convert them to Christianity.” Kendall-Ball is assuming “by force” because it suits his caricature of her, but she didn’t say that. In the Cope/Kendall-Ball world view, they seem to be suggesting that Christians should be against converting Muslims to Christianity — to the point that those who advocate such outrageous notions should be banned from Christian college campuses.

Specifically, Cope says Harding should ban her because her words are “divisive and damaging to public discourse.” Well, what’s wrong with being “divisive?” Clarity is often divisive, especially moral clarity. The easiest way to make sure everyone agrees with you is to say nothing of consequence. And if you have to say something of consequence, don’t be too specific or too clear. While being vague and nice might avoid offending anyone, I’m not sure it’s what Christians ought to strive for. Jesus was certainly divisive. Look at all the controversy He stirred-up. He even called people names on occasion, such as “hypocrite.” The world may look more appealing through Mike Cope’s fuzzy, soft-focus lens where everyone just holds hands and sings about peace and love. But, there is value to looking more clearly at the world and having free-wheeling debates about our differences. Harding students aren’t served by denying them the opportunity to hear Ann Coulter’s point of view. Being thin-skinned, humorless, and quick to take offense are not traits that Harding should instill in students. Sheltering them from sharp-elbowed commentators like Coulter does them no favors.

She criticizes the evils of Islamofascism loudly and forcefully. She criticizes those who seek to appease or accommodate or ignore Islamofascism with the same vigor. If that makes people uncomfortable, it should. That is the point. Some of us had to run from our offices on 9/11. Some of us were attacked with anthrax and ricin. Some of us knew people who were on those planes and worshipped with those who heroically sacrificed themselves in Afghanistan to protect Mike Cope and Gregg Kendall-Ball. We can get frustrated when the rest of the country seems to forget the nature of the enemy we are facing. We are thankful when people like Ann Coulter shock people into realizing this is serious. Is it divisive? Maybe. But, the people around the world who raise their children to hate Jews and Christians and all non-Muslims are pretty divisive too. And dividing us from them is not a bad thing.

Who does Mike Cope criticize? Ann Coulter. Someone at Harding who disagrees with him about baptism. Political conservatives who don’t think that government hand-outs are the best way to help the poor. But, he does it in a soft voice and with a smile. At least he’s not divisive.

This is a sad turn of events for Harding. I am deeply disappointed that my alma mater has apparently yielded to a demand for political correctness from a vocal but tiny minority of alumni.